Monday, September 14, 2009

10 men Man United beat Spurs..away!

Many of the pre-match soccer previews by well-known football pundits predicted a win for Tottenham. Well, why not? Spurs and Chelsea were the only 2 teams with maximum points going into the weekend matches. All wins and no loss. The general belief is that with Ronaldo and Tevez gone, Manchester United will find themselves struggling this new season of the EPL.The opening day match when newly -promoted Burnley shocked the football world with a 1-0 win over United seems to confirm that feeling.Moreover many of the Red Devils key players are still sidelined with injuries.

Photos credit: BBC SportsGoalkeeper Van der Sar, midfielder Owen Hargreaves, Gary Neville, Rio Ferdinand are just some of them.But in sports and in a match such as this, the historical data between the 2 teams cannot be overlooked. In the last 20 previous meetings between Man U and Spurs, the latter has not won yet! Only 1 draw and 19 wins for the Devils!I think Spore Pools have people who know their job too well. On the day of the match, I checked the odds for the 2 teams. It was about $3.50 for a Spurs win on the 1x2 and if you had plonked money on Man U it paid a very attractive $2.50.This was one of the 2 best games over the weekend that I had watched.No one could have guessed the final outcome after the referee started the match. Why?Spurs had possession and a speculative cross was sent towards Peter Crouch in Man U's box. A nervous Vidic could only partially head away towards where Jermain Defoe was lurking. And with his back towards goal, Defoe showed why he is so hot for England as a striker presently. His " reverse bicycle kick" sent the ball powerfully into goal. Spurs 1, United 0....all in only 38 seconds on the clock! Not even a minute had elapsed.Sometime ago, I recall reading some reports that quoted some opposing team managers saying "it is more dangerous to score early against Man United as they have a habit of rising to the challenge!"United have shown time and time again that they can get the job done even when chasing a game. This was what happened again. Classy Man United did not collapse or lose heart. They had more of the ball and with Giggs, who was making his 700th appearance for his team and Paul Scholes who was inch-perfect in his long through balls, Man U attacked relentlessly. The breakthrough came in the 24th minute from a freekick after Berbatov was fouled.Giggs sent in a beauty that sailed and curved over the Spurs defensive wall...into the top corner.Spurs 1, United 1.Five minutes before the break, the visitors took the lead when Anderson pounced on a rebound and sent a powerful low shot through a sea of legs for his 1st ever EPL goal. He celebrated as though he has won the world cup! Don't blame him, this was his only goal after 76 starts for United.Spurs 1, United 2 was the score at halftime.The home team could have and should have overwhelmed Man U after Scholes was red-carded for a mistimed sliding tackle, soon after the 2nd half begun. Instead, it was the Devils who were more relentless in attack and steadfast in defence. Darren Fletcher was superb...closing down everything, so was looney Rooney.In the 77th minute, Fletcher sent a long ball for Rooney to chase. Using his speed, Rooney easily rounded the last defender Hutton and shot through the legs of the GK for a final 3-1 scoreline for United.I would rate this match an 8/10 for excitement and entertainment!The importance of history receives a 10/10 for this case.